News Round-Up

• “Britain’s daily coronavirus cases fall for a fourth day in a row” – A total of 31,795 new cases were reported in the UK today, down 41% in a week, reports the Mail. The Times also covers the remarkable data.
• “Double jabs set to be needed to watch Premier League matches” – Mass events with more than 20,000 spectators could require a full vaccination from October, including autumn rugby internationals, according to the Telegraph.
• “Privacy tsar wants NHS Covid app ‘decommissioned’ as soon as the pandemic eases” – Elizabeth Denham, the Information Commissioner, said vaccine passports should only exist for a limited period to deal with the Covid crisis.
• “Lockdown restrictions, from masks to pings, must have a purpose – and an end point” – Rising infection rates suggest that vaccines protect against hospitalisation rather than against contracting the virus, says Daniel Hannan in the Telegraph.
• “Worldwide Freedom Rally” – Coverage of yesterday’s protests in dozens of cities around the world from OffGuardian.
• “Riot police fire tear gas and water cannons on protesters in Paris” – A new bill requiring everyone in France to have a special virus pass to enter restaurants and other venues and make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all health care workers has brought protestors out on to the streets of Paris, reports the Mail.
• “Sajid Javid accused of spooking PM into putting France on Amber-plus” – Insiders say the Amber plus decision was taken at a meeting on July 16th attended by Mr Javid, Mr Johnson and senior scientific advisers, but not Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, according to the Mail.
• “Who’s to blame for the chaos in No 10?” – A Cabinet Minister believes, with the departure of Dom Cummings, Boris has lost his political antennae. They say he is influenced by focus groups, writes Dan Hodges in the Mail.
• “Lancet ‘sat on vital Covid data that was being suppressed by China’” – Editors of the Lancet medical journal failed to share critical evidence that showed the new coronavirus could be spread by people who were not displaying symptoms, says Ian Birrell in the Mail.
• “China’s SARS response made Covid deception template” – The stark similarities between Beijing’s sinister response to the two outbreaks are highlighted in a damning new paper published in CBRNe World, writes Ian Birrell in the Mail.
• “Covid could be spread through flatulence, say ministers” – Source says officials have read ‘credible-looking stuff’ on theory from other countries including Australia, according to the Telegraph.
• “Why Government Lockdowns Mostly Harm the Poor” – “These irresponsible Government actions are especially acute and more harmful in developing countries and among the poor because most workers can’t afford to sacrifice weeks or perhaps months of income, only to be confined to what is effectively house arrest,” writes Michael N. Peterson for AIER.
• “Scared out of their wits by the Covid paranoia, Britons long to repent, submit and be controlled” – An authoritarianism that presents itself as benign can be more invidious than a murderous tyranny, writes Janet Daley in the Telegraph.
• “Daily Covid Deaths in Sweden Hit Zero, as Other Nations Brace for More Lockdowns” – This isn’t what the experts said would happen, writes Jon Militmore on the Foundation for Economic Education website.
• “We need to act now to block Britain’s social credit system” – Ross Clark in the Spectator is shocked to discover China’s social credit system is already slated to arrive in Britain next year.
• “No vax, no vote? Macron’s vaccine passport plan sparks fury” – Will French voters have to prove that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to vote, asks Jonathan Miller in the Spectator.
• “With friends like Melanie…” – Mark Pickles in Conservative Woman asks why the usually friendly Melanie Phillips is taking shots at Conservative Woman and Lockdown Sceptics.
• “Laurence Fox: ‘We are in the early days of tyranny” – A warning from Reclaim Party leader Laurence Fox on Conservative Woman.
• “Former PM Tony Abbott says the ‘lockdown mindset’ is ‘contrary to human nature’” – Advance Australia reports on recent remarks from the former Liberal PM.
• “Single-use face masks are an environmental and health disaster. Tax them” – Joanna Blythman takes aim at the dirty face rags in the Herald.
• “Bankers’ bonuses to be based on team diversity” – A new ‘score card’ will link senior executives’ pay to diversity targets and progress on climate change, according to the Telegraph.
• “Do You Feel Free?” – In the latest episode of Bournbrook’s ‘Week in Review’ podcast, Michael Curzon and co discuss vaccine passports and the ‘pingdemic’.
• “Cheer up, Covid is losing its grip” – Ben Spencer in the Sunday Times finds reasons for optimism.
• “Cost of Covid will last for decades, say MPs” – Taxpayers will be facing the costs of Covid for decades, and an inquiry will not come quickly enough to learn the lessons needed from the pandemic, MPs have said, according to the Sunday Times.
• “£420 per visor: the price of ministers’ PPE panic” – A former Conservative councillor received a £120 million Government contract for face shields whose quality is so doubtful that fewer than 1 in 400 have been used, the Times reports.
• “In a disturbing twist, our leaders are losing faith in the vaccines” – Fully vaccinated travellers are being stripped of their perks here and abroad, writes Annabel Fenwick Elliot in the Telegraph
• “Top virologist claims drinking booze CAN protect against coronavirus” – He says “the higher the percentage of alcohol, the better it is”, according to 7News.
• “Dance and drama classes reflect ‘white supremacy’, leading conservatoire claims” – The Conservatoire for Dance and Drama says that its “white-dominated” subjects must be “decolonised”, reports the Telegraph.
• “The elite is not woke out of self-flagellation, but out of self-preservation” – What is now called ‘wokery’ began life on the margins of academia, and has now been embraced by the entire global elite, writes Adrian Wooldridge in the Telegraph (and quotes Toby’s father).
• “This country doesn’t belong to the Government and SAGE – it belongs to you” – Watch Mark Dolan’s opening monologue on his new GB News show.